1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to waste disposer devices, and more particularly, to an improved waste disposer having a food chamber and motor housing that are rotatably coupled together.
2. Description of Related Art
Garbage or waste disposers are well known in the prior art and are common in both commercial and household applications. Waste disposers are interposed between a drain of a sink and an outlet conduit connected to a sewer system. Waste disposers are used to grind food waste matter and similar debris into small particles, to prevent the food matter from clogging the outlet conduit of the sewer system.
A waste disposer is coupled to a drain opening of a sink and to outlet conduit connected to the sewer system. The waste disposer comprises a food chamber fastened to a motor housing. Within the motor housing is an electric motor that is connected to a power source and a grind assembly positioned above the motor and coupled thereto. The grind assembly includes a grind plate coupled to the motor. The grind assembly also includes grind blades rotatably secured to the grind plate and an outlet aperture in a sidewall of the housing. The outlet aperture is interposed between a bottom surface of the grind plate and the motor. Ground food particles are flushed through small openings in the grind plate and into the outlet aperture. An outlet pipe is coupled to the outlet aperture for coupling the waste disposer to outlet conduit, to allow the ground food particles to be flushed into the sewer system.
The food chamber is fastened to the open end of the motor housing to prevent leaks from forming between the chamber and housing. A plurality of spatially positioned channels extend from a bottom plate of the motor housing toward the open end thereof and adjacent to the sidewall. Elongated bolts are disposed in the channels and extend through the channels and along the sidewall of the grind assembly portion of the housing.
The food chamber is configured with a flange that extends about a bottom edge thereof. Holes that mate with the channels are provided in the flange. The food chamber's flange is positioned over the open end of the motor housing and ends of the bolts are disposed through each of the holes in the flange. A nut is then threaded onto the end of each bolt and tightened, until the food chamber is securely fastened to the motor housing.
The food chamber also has an inlet opening that mates with the drain opening of the sink. A flange mechanism is coupled to the food chamber's inlet opening for securing the waste disposer to the sink. The food chamber also includes a dishwasher inflow tube that provides a drain path to the sewer system for waste water from an automatic dishwasher. Waste water from the dishwasher flows through the inflow tube, into the food chamber, and out through the outlet aperture into the outlet conduit connected thereto. The inflow tube is aligned with the outlet aperture in the motor housing.
The waste disposer is installed by first positioning the inlet opening of the food chamber adjacent to the drain opening of the sink. The flange mechanism is used to secure the inlet opening of the food chamber, and thus secure the disposer to the sink. Prior to fully tightening the waste disposer against the sink, the disposer may be rotated to align the outlet aperture with outlet conduit of the sewer system. Once the desired position is achieved, the inlet opening of the food chamber is tightened against the sink to prevent the disposer from moving about beneath the sink and to prevent leaks. The outlet conduit is then coupled to the outlet aperture.
Outflow tubing from the dishwasher is then coupled to the inflow tube of the food chamber. However, since the inflow tube is aligned with the outlet aperture in the motor housing, outlet conduit coupled to the outlet aperture usually obstructs access to the inflow tube, making it difficult to couple the dishwasher's outflow tubing to the inflow tube. Further, there may be additional outlet conduit, such as outlet conduit coupled to a drain of a partitioned sink for example, and other obstructions beneath the sink that render coupling of the dishwasher's outflow tubing to the inflow tube somewhat difficult.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved waste disposer that is easier and faster to install than prior designs.